Women fetch water from the Bulanda water hole. They drink the putrid water and also give it to their children, because they have no other water source.

“I don’t like this water at all,” says Dorcas Hamasamu. Everyone in the village agrees with Dorcas. This water is awful. Hideous. One dirty water hole serves 86 households in this village.

In 15 years, the world could face a 40 percent water shortage, the United Nations says in a report released in March 2015. 

Population growth, urbanization, and industrialization are the main cause of increased demand on freshwater resources.

World Vision water expert, Greg Allgood, offers his perspective on the U.N.’s prediction. 

“This big trend they’re worried about is real,” Greg says. “But it’s not a huge wakeup call to us.”

World Vision is the largest humanitarian provider of clean water in the world. Every 30 seconds, a new person gains access to clean water through World Vision’s efforts to protect or rehabilitate water sources, drill wells, or harvest rain water. 

Photo ©2014 Jon Warren/ World Vision